10-15-02: No injuries visible

10-15-02: No injuries visible

Coroner reports on Kimberly Anderson at time of shooting

By SHELLEY GRIESHOP
The Daily Standard

    DEFIANCE - Kimberly Anderson had no visible injuries the night she shot and killed her estranged husband, Auglaize County Coroner Dr. Thomas Freytag testified this morning, the sixth day of her murder trial.
    Freytag recapped for jurors his interview and brief examination of Kimberly Anderson at the scene of Brent Anderson's death. Results of that exam were that she did not suffer any visual wounds during the incident, Freytag said, during cross examination by prosecutors.
    Kimberly Anderson previously testified that she and Brent Anderson had argued and that she "half ran, half fell" up the stairs of her home before grabbing a gun and shooting him after he allegedly chased her up the stairs.
    Also on the stand this morning was L.J. Dragovich, a forensic pathologist from Pontiac, Mich. Dragovich was called by the defense to give expert testimony on the wounds found on Brent Anderson's body.
    Dragovich told jurors that he believed the Lucas County Coroneršs report was largely accurate.
    Dragovich said he believes the multiple gunshots did not immediately kill Brent Anderson.
    "It took some time for him to die. It may have taken several minutes. He did not die instantaneously," Dragovich said.
    As for the grazing wound that was found to the lower back of Brent Anderson, Dragovich said it was inconclusive if that was the first shot fired. Lucas County Coroner Dr. Cynthia Beisser had previously testified
that she believes that was the first shot Kimberly Anderson fired.
Dragovich also said it was inconclusive as to whether Brent Anderson was moving forward at the time Kimberly Anderson began shooting. He said it was good possibility both were moving forward or sideways during the shooting.
    Under cross examination by Auglaize County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Fox, Dragovich admitted he had only seen the autopsy report and scenes from the autopsy before arriving at the courthouse this morning. Fox also drew out in cross examination that Dragovich had not read any of Kimberly Anderson's statement as of today.
    Dragovich said he purposely did not read the statement because he did
not want to come to any preconceived opinions about the shooting.
    "Do I have all the answers? No, I never will probably. But that's the limitations," Dragovich said.
    If Auglaize County Common Pleas Judge Frederick Pepple's prediction is correct, the Defiance County jurors - five men and seven women - will begin deliberating on the testimony and evidence in the murder case by early Wednesday afternoon. Auglaize County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Pierce indicated Friday that he may call rebuttal witnesses to the stand Wednesday morning before closing arguments are presented to the jurors by both sides.
    The case was moved to the relatively small Defiance County Courthouse after a change of venue was granted to the defense just three days before the trial began Oct. 7. Pepple changed the trial's location due to pretrial publicity which defense attorney, Alan Konop of Toledo, said would make it difficult to find unbiased jurors in Auglaize County. The courtroom, which seats only 38, has become increasingly more crowded each day of the trial.
    Kimberly Anderson, 38, of rural Wapakoneta, is accused of the multiple-shooting death of her estranged husband, Brent Anderson. She claims the 37-year-old Celina attorney, whom she married in August 1998, came after her during a fight they had on Sept. 2, 2001.
    Kimberly Anderson testified that an argument erupted that Sunday afternoon when she confronted her husband about sexual abuse allegations made by one of their two young sons. She stated during testimony that Brent Anderson threatened that he was not going to let her tell anyone about the alleged sexual abuse.
    Kimberly Anderson has been indicted for aggravated murder, murder and voluntary manslaughter. Because the indictment is in the "alternative," she can be sentenced to only one of the charges if convicted of more than one. Jurors, however, can find her guilty or not guilty of any or all of the charges.
    To convict her of aggravated murder, jurors must find that she purposely and with prior calculation and design caused Brent Anderson's death. If found guilty, she faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
    Jurors must find she purposely caused the death of Brent Anderson to find her guilty of murder. If convicted of that charge, she faces a life in prison with the chance of parole after 15 years.
    If found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, jurors must be convinced that
Kimberly Anderson killed her husband under the influence of sudden passion or in a fit of rage, fright, terror or wild desperation, which must have been provoked by Brent Anderson. If found guilty of this lesser charge of the three, she would face a maximum of 10 years in prison.
    All three indictment charges carry firearm specifications, which add a mandated three years to the prison term of each.

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